ISSUE: Black sea bass recreational harvest has exceeded 2015 limits in the northern
region. New York (along with all states from Massachusetts to New Jersey) is required
to develop more restrictive rules governing recreational black sea bass fishing in order
to restrain harvest to the 2016 limits. The required reduction is estimated by the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission to be 23.2%. Preliminary MRIP Wave 6 data
became fully available on February 18, 2016.
The purpose of this memo is to provide interested and involved constituents with some
idea of what the required reduction could look like in terms of regulatory adjustments so
that they can consider the matter and provide the Bureau of Marine Resources (BMR)
with feedback.
Compliance with the minimum size limit in 2015 was poor and changes to the minimum
size will not be considered for 2016. All options in the table below include a 14.0
minimum size.
As was done last year, interested parties can request additional options by email
(john.maniscalco@dec.ny.gov) or phone (631-444-0437). All constructive and
productive suggestions will be considered to the best of my ability and the limitations of
the data. The goal is to generate a list of options that meet the required 23.2% reduction
by March 1, 2016 that can be used by both NYs Marine Resource Advisory Council
(MRAC) and the BMR. MRAC is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday March 8th at
6:30PM (tentatively at Stony Brook University SoMAS).
***For additional consideration, a regional option is currently being considered by Rhode
Island, Connecticut, and New York. Would the NY Public support the following 2016
regional measure?
14.0 minimum size, 3 fish from July 23-August 31 and 5 fish from Sept. 1-Dec. 31
Options provided below are subject to change and approval by the NYSDEC and
various bodies of the ASMFC.
Note: Federal Wave 5 closure in 2016 will be Sept. 22  Oct. 21
Note: All options above include a 14.0 minimum size
DATA:
Notes:
1. All data used and shown here is from MRIP website queries and downloadshttp://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/recreati...isheries/index
2. Reduction value from season loss is not additive with reduction value from decreased
possession limit. Simply adding up bag limit changes and days lost will have you close,
but over-estimate the actual reduction by ~2-3%.
3. Possession limit in November and December (Wave 6) of 2015 was 10 fish. An
analysis of the catch record (MRIP data) indicates there is no additional value to
reducing the possession limit during this Wave to more than 7 fish.